Bass build is done
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:54 pm
This build went more smoothly than the previous two, until I got to the finishing. That turned slowly into a disaster, and I ended up doing a complete sand-back-to-wood-and-start-over. The finish is Tru-Oil, and I will be doing a post based on my experience with that.
Plays and sounds really good except for one little issue I have some questions about which I'll post separately. Not great pics, but it's what I have. One little chore yet is to make a cover for the truss-rod. I have some new (smaller) decals ordered which I'm going to place on the truss-rod cover. I made the headstock a little too small to accommodate a logo decal.
It's a short (30") scale length, the body is walnut, the neck is a three-piece glue-up of maple with a walnut skunk stripe, FB is wenge, MOP FB markers, Hipshot Kick Ass bridge, Gotoh tuners, EMG-X PJ active pickup set. Control knobs are ebony. I was thinking of making those but saw that StewMac had these for something like $6 each so...
Other than the carving of that variable-width fillet around the face of the body, nothing unusual in the construction. I will mention that the fit of the neck is the best I've ever done - a perfect "piston fit" that required just a bit of hand pressure to get the neck to slide into the pocket. The body started out as a flat-sawn live-edge slab, thicknessed, sliced down the middle of the cathedral, then capped on the back with a couple of quarter-sawn planks.
I have to say that the carving was a blast. I'm definitely going to find more excuses to do that!! One challenge is spotting flaws before putting the finish on. I tried some of the Tru-Oil thinned 50/50 with thinner, but that didn't really give enough gloss to spot the bad spots. One fortuitous aspect of having to start over with the finishing is it gave me a chance to fix a couple of little ripples in the carving that weren't visible until the finish started to build and get real glossy. They would have ended up being the kind of thing that folks wouldn't notice if you didn't point it out, but you know how it is - as the builder they would have been screaming at me!!
I'd intended to have a gloss finish on this, but that wasn't in the cards so steel wool (actually gray Scotchbrite pads) and buffing with paste wax for a satin finish was how it ended up. I love the look now, but handling over the years is going to put polished spots on it that I'm not sure I'll like (which is why I shy away from satin finishes on guitars!). At the worst I can re-scuff with the Scotchbrite and re-wax as needed to maintain the satin finish.
Plays and sounds really good except for one little issue I have some questions about which I'll post separately. Not great pics, but it's what I have. One little chore yet is to make a cover for the truss-rod. I have some new (smaller) decals ordered which I'm going to place on the truss-rod cover. I made the headstock a little too small to accommodate a logo decal.
It's a short (30") scale length, the body is walnut, the neck is a three-piece glue-up of maple with a walnut skunk stripe, FB is wenge, MOP FB markers, Hipshot Kick Ass bridge, Gotoh tuners, EMG-X PJ active pickup set. Control knobs are ebony. I was thinking of making those but saw that StewMac had these for something like $6 each so...
Other than the carving of that variable-width fillet around the face of the body, nothing unusual in the construction. I will mention that the fit of the neck is the best I've ever done - a perfect "piston fit" that required just a bit of hand pressure to get the neck to slide into the pocket. The body started out as a flat-sawn live-edge slab, thicknessed, sliced down the middle of the cathedral, then capped on the back with a couple of quarter-sawn planks.
I have to say that the carving was a blast. I'm definitely going to find more excuses to do that!! One challenge is spotting flaws before putting the finish on. I tried some of the Tru-Oil thinned 50/50 with thinner, but that didn't really give enough gloss to spot the bad spots. One fortuitous aspect of having to start over with the finishing is it gave me a chance to fix a couple of little ripples in the carving that weren't visible until the finish started to build and get real glossy. They would have ended up being the kind of thing that folks wouldn't notice if you didn't point it out, but you know how it is - as the builder they would have been screaming at me!!
I'd intended to have a gloss finish on this, but that wasn't in the cards so steel wool (actually gray Scotchbrite pads) and buffing with paste wax for a satin finish was how it ended up. I love the look now, but handling over the years is going to put polished spots on it that I'm not sure I'll like (which is why I shy away from satin finishes on guitars!). At the worst I can re-scuff with the Scotchbrite and re-wax as needed to maintain the satin finish.